Prof. Vo Tong Xuan Builds Friendship with Sierra Leone Farmers Through Rice Cultivation

In 2006, through a company's introduction, the then Sierra Leone's Ambassador to Beijing (China), Sahr Johnny, met Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan to discuss how to help his country produce food.

"Vietnam has risen from the lack of food to become the second largest rice exporter in the world, so I think I can bring my experience to help Sierra Leone. I gave my word to the Ambassador and he arranged for me to visit Sierra Leone to survey the land", said Vo Tong Xuan.

Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan on a visit to Africa to guide people to grow rice.

Xuan's first trip to Sierra Leone was paid for by himself. During a week in Sierra Leone, he traveled around, interacting with tribal chiefs and farmers to learn about their practices. He also discussed with the rice research staff at Rokupr to understand the difficulties in research and technology transfer.

Xuan noticed that Sierra Leone has vast land and sparse people. Its climate conditions are quite similar to the Mekong Delta. Most people there grew a crop of rice a year and had not yet grasped advanced rice-growing techniques. Irrigation water was completely dependent on natural conditions, no irrigation system had been built yet. Therefore, they could only grow 2-3 tons of rice per hectare.

More than a year after the survey, the "Sierra Leone Food Safety Working Group" led by Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan was established. He went to Sierra Leone again, bringing 50 high-yielding rice varieties and 10 high-quality rice varieties from the Mekong Delta. Rice varieties were tested at the Mange Bureh and the Rokupr research farm. Engineers designed and built an irrigation system of 200 hectares at the Mange Bureh experimental area. Vietnamese experts helped the locals to secure two big successes: planting two rice crops per year, producing about 4.7 tons of rice per hectare. The growing period was shortened to 95-100 days. The experts also stored enough rice seeds for large-scale planting.

Appreciating this achievement, Vice President of Sierra Leone Solomon Berewa said that if Vietnam helps Sierra Leone to experiment and organize food production according to Mekong Delta's techniques, not only will Sierra Leone farmers be benefited, but Vietnam can also join Sierra Leone in exporting rice from Sierra Leone's Freetown port to West African countries.

At an international webinar on food security and nutrition in May 2022, when talking about his trips to Sierra Leone to help the local farmers grow rice, Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan passionately decalred his mission to help African people. "In Africa, food lies mainly in the soil, there are abundant human resources available, mainly young people who are eager to work. By equipping them with skills, tools, and technology for production, Africa will surely defeat the "enemy of hunger," ensuring food security and sustainable development," he said.

Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan talks with a Vietnamese farmer.

After the successful trial in Sierra Leone, Professor Xuan and his colleagues continued to visit Nigeria, Sudan, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, and Liberia to survey. "If guided, African farmers can do very well in agriculture. However, to do so, we need many factors to support and accompany their development," he said, from his experience on the trips.

"Using short-term, high-yield rice varieties and building irrigation systems, we can absolutely produce three crops a year in Africa. This will make a positive contribution to food security in the region and around the world. We can support African countries by transferring experience, technology, and techniques of rice cultivation. I look forward to international organizations joining hands to support African countries. If we can have more agencies participating to support Africa, especially financially, we can fully realize all these efforts," said the professor.

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